Read a full match report of the World Cup Group A qualifying game between
Wales and Serbia at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday Sept 10, 2013.

Gareth Bale could not spare Wales manager Chris Coleman from calls for him to be sacked during a 32-minute substitute outing in a comprehensive defeat against Serbia.

Having missed the 2-1 defeat in Macedonia last Friday with a groin strain, Bale made his first appearance since completing a world-record £85 million transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid when he replaced Leicester City midfielder Andy King early in the second half.

Although Bale went close with two long-range efforts, the damage had already been inflicted by Serbia, who sent Wales to the bottom of Group A .

The comfortable manner of ­Serbia’s win, coupled with the ineptitude of the home side, led to chants before half-time of: “We want Coleman out”. Despite the supporter unrest, the former Fulham and Coventry City manager is understood to be on the verge of signing a new contract to take charge of the Euro 2016 quali­fiers, so his future is unlikely to be affected by the discord in the stands.

Still, even with a fully fit Bale at his disposal, Coleman faces an almighty challenge to make Wales competitive at this level in time for the next qualifying campaign. This defeat was their sixth in eight games in Group A, with two wins against Scotland the sum total of Welsh efforts.

Against a Serbia team playing with only the slimmest hope of qualification, Wales failed to measure up. Filip Dordevic gave Serbia the lead after eight minutes when he headed in from close range after Andrew Crofts had played the Nantes forward inside following a cross from Aleksandar Kolarov. The Manchester City full-back doubled ­Serbia’s lead with a searing left-foot effort from 25 yards.

Lazar Markovic then made it 3-0 when he pounced on a rebound to score after goalkeeper Boaz Myhill had saved well from Dusan Tadic.